For people who love tropical fish and enjoy watching them go about their various schooling and feeding routines, Guppies are often a favorite choice.
Also known as Millions fish because of their prolific breeding habit, Guppies come in over 300 varieties and are relatively easy to raise and care for in a smaller fish tank.
As well as providing your Guppies with a clean, hygienic environment in which to live, you’ll need to give your pets a correct, balanced diet.
So, what do Guppies eat, and can Guppies eat betta food? Read this guide to find out!
Can Guppies Eat Betta Food?
In theory, Guppies can eat betta food. However, Guppies are omnivores that need plenty of vegetable matter in their diet. In contrast, betta fish are primarily carnivorous, requiring a diet that contains mostly meaty protein.
That said, in a pinch, you could give your Guppies betta food to keep them happy until you can get to the fish store and buy them some suitable tropical fish food.
However, in a nutshell, a betta fish diet in isolation is not suitable for Guppies.
What Do Guppies Eat?
Guppies come from Northeast and South America, where they live in freshwater pools and streams throughout the Amazon.
Guppies are abundant in Guyana, Brazil, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
In their wild environment, Guppies eat both plants and meaty protein, as well as large quantities of algae. In addition, wild Guppies take insect larvae, invertebrates, brine shrimp, and diatoms.
Captive Guppy Diet
Guppies kept in fish tanks as pets enjoy a varied diet.
The fish do best on a basic diet of tropical fish flakes, veggie pellets, or Guppy pellets, as well as frozen foods, including brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, small bloodworms, and daphnia.
The following are all good choices of foods for Guppies:
- Hakari USA Guppy Food: Judged to be Best Overall. Small pellets in packs (improves breeding habits).
Hikari Tropical Fancy Guppy Fish Food 22g
Check Price on Amazon- API Guppy Food Mini Pellets: Contains tasty, high-protein foods like shrimp and other fish sources.
API Tropical Mini Pellets Fish Food
Check Price on Amazon- Tetramin Guppy Food: Best food for fish growth. Flakes provide an active life formula.
Tetra Guppy Food 100 ML
Check Price on Amazon- Omega One Guppy Food: Flakes laden with vitamins and minerals for enhancing coloration.
Omega One Super Color Flakes 2.2 oz
Check Price on AmazonIf you have a reliable supplier, you can offer your Guppies live food options, such as wingless fruit flies, bloodworms, and daphnia.
However, live food often comes with a cargo of parasites and bacteria, and you can never be sure just how fresh the food is.
So, unless you have your own home brine shrimp hatchery, it’s safer to stick to using frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, etc., as meat-based proteins for your fish.
Dietary Differences
So, in theory, Guppies can eat betta food in limited quantities.
However, betta fish food is high in protein and fat, often as high as 40%, while Guppies need a more balanced diet of primarily plant-based meals, with 25% protein or less for optimal health.
Both bettas and Guppies need a balanced diet that provides them with what each species needs to ensure their best possible health, vitality, and color.
For example, small vegetable pellets will help to provide the Guppies with the correct balance of nutrition, i.e., protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, to sustain their health and enable them to live long and active lives.
Vegetable pellets contain a variety of micronutrients, such as carotenoids, which enhance their colors, keeping your Guppies beautiful and vibrant.
However, your betta probably wouldn’t eat them. That can lead to uneaten food decomposing in the tank, meaning more time for aquarium owners to be spent cleaning.
Digestive Issues
Bettas can be prone to conditions such as bloat and constipation, which are both typically caused by dietary imbalances.
Guppies can also be susceptible to digestive issues if fed the wrong types of food in the wrong combination.
Betta Foods Suitable for Guppies
If you decide to try keeping a few Guppies with a betta, you’ll need to know what betta foods are the most suitable.
Betta food comes in various forms, including flakes, mini-pellets, and small pellets. Since bettas are surface feeders, most of the commercially produced betta foods are formulated to float on the water’s surface.
Guppies tend to hang around the middle of the water column, and they will also feed at the surface. So, floating food will suit Guppies, as well as bettas.
Several commercially prepared betta foods are also suitable for Guppies, including:
- Ocean Nutrition Betta pellets: Small-sized, crude protein, and 36% fat. Freshness is a consideration.
Ocean Nutrition Betta Pellets High Protein Food
Check Price on Amazon- Hikari Betta Bio-Gold: Color-enhancing high protein with 38% fat for optimum Betta health.
Hikari Betta Bio-Gold Baby Pellets 0.088 oz
Check Price on Amazon- Omega One Betta Buffet pellets: High in crude protein; Made with fillers, so they do not float long.
Omega One Betta Buffet 1.5mm Pellets
Check Price on Amazon- Aqueon Betta Food: Small pellets, high in crude protein; Made with fillers, so they do not float long.
Aqueon PRO Betta Pellet Fish Food 1.4 oz
Check Price on AmazonMost of these foods sink fairly quickly after you’ve put them in the tank, where the Guppies can capitalize.
Can You Keep Guppies With Bettas?
More experienced and adventurous fish keepers might want to try keeping Guppies with a betta fish in a mixed tank. However, that can be a recipe for disaster!
Unfortunately, although these two brightly colored fish species would make an excellent eye-catching display, Guppies do not make good tank mates for bettas.
The main problem is male Guppies are brightly colored with flashy, flowing tails. As far as your betta is concerned, a male Guppy could easily be mistaken for another male betta.
That often triggers aggression in bettas, potentially resulting in stress, injuries, and even fatalities.
However, female Guppies and those varieties sold as feeder fish generally lack the bright colors and flowing finnage of Fancy guppies and could be a safer option.
That said, feeder fish often carry diseases that could be passed to your betta, so we don’t recommend using these Guppies.
Final Thoughts
Did you enjoy our guide to whether Guppies can eat betta food? If you did, please take a moment to share it!
So, Guppies can eat betta food, although they need a more plant-based diet than your carnivorous betta buddy.
In addition, Guppies and bettas don’t make ideal tank mates. The Guppies’ bright colors and flowing finnage often trigger the betta’s aggressive tendencies, leading to fighting and possible injuries.
Betta food can be given to Guppies in an emergency, but we recommend using tropical fish flakes, frozen meaty foods for variety, and special Guppy pellets that contain color-enhancing compounds to make your fish really pop.
